Established in 1969, Manohar is a publishing house and a bookseller serving individuals and libraries. We export books by mail and have a bookstore at Ansari Road in Delhi.
Manohar initially sold only rare and out of print publications, but soon branched out into local sale/export of new books published in India, and then into publishing of scholarly works under its own imprint.

10 August, 2012

Candayan is the pioneer work in a series of Sufi love-narratives, the Masnavis, composed in India. The Indo-Sufi Masnavi genre continued to flourish for over 500 years, resulting in a substantial volume of every rich literature. Candayan also served as a model for subsequent Masnavis, such as Kutuban’s Mrgavati and Jayasi’s Padmavat.

In the Mahakoshal region of Madhya Pradesh, Canaini, a pastoral folk-tale also known as Lorikayan, was very popular. Maulana Daud based his Candayan on this oral epic. Lorik lives in Govar, a town on the banks of the Ganges river, with his wife Maina. One day he catches a glimpse of Canda, the princess of Govar, and falls in love with her. Canda also loves Lorik, and both elope to be able to live together.

After many adventures, Lorik and Canda return to Govar to live with Lorik’s family.

Until recently it was believed that the Sufi love narratives of India were substandard works, not quite representative of the Indian morals, and did not meet the Indian literary standards.

Consequently, for years, the Hindi Masnavi literature remained neglected. This study opens a window into the true nature of the Masnavi, and invites the reader to take a new look at the Indo-Sufi Masnavi genre and determine its rightful place in the history of Hindi literature.

Naseem A. Hines teaches Urdu-Hindi languages and Literatures in the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies at Harvard University. Her articles, fiction, and English translations of Urdu poetry have been published in a number of American and International Publications. She is now working on bringing out a Critical Edition of Candayan and its English translations.

Mapping Criminal Justice Delivery in India: Towards Development of an Index

By- Pramod Kumar and Rainuka Dagar

Globalization and economic reforms process has changed the policing terrain. With the threat posed by terrorism, globalization of rights and crime, resurgence and reconfiguration of identity markets, the principles and scope of criminal justice system have to be redefined. It is, therefore, essential to address the fear and risk of crime, improve provisions for the security of individuals and their living environment by creating effective justice institutions and mechanisms that aim at the creation of a crime-free society. It is in this backdrop that the present work has given primacy to human rights and fair delivery of justice.

This instrument provides a framework to strengthen the delivery of justice. It uses an inclusive approach and links local cultural needs of justice with global standards of human rights. The criminal justice system is viewed holistically. The institutions of the police, the courts and the prisons are taken as part of the system performing specialized functions. The purpose of this mapping is to find out, how far the criminal justice system is accessible, effective and accountable. It also intends to capture the level of safety and security enjoyed by the citizens and the nature of access to justice across religion, race, caste and religion. This has been measured with the help of multiple indicators including those from the supply and demand side along with process indicators to capture a rounded view of policy progress.

Pramod Kumar is currently Director, Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigrah. He is on the Board of Directors of Global Altus Justice Alliance, The Hague. He has been a recipient of the Homi Bhabha Fellowship in 1988.

Rainuka Dagar is Regional Representative of the Altus Global Alliance in the Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh.